Unspoken
by Kohaku no Hime
Summary: Conrad Ecklie did not agree with Gil Grissom on most things. No pairings, season five finale spoilers inside.


_Currently, it seems my plot bunnies are infatuated with the original CSI (to clarify, it's the one out in Las Vegas)._

_I was rewatching the season five finale the other day ("Grave Danger", parts 1 and 2) and something Grissom said to Ecklie really stuck with me. I honestly couldn't think about anything else for a while and my bunnies insisted I write it down, so that's I how I came up with this._

_This is my first time writing CSI fiction (which is why it's rather short) and I did my hardest to keep everyone in character, plus there are spoilers for the season five finale in here (for those of you who haven't seen it), but if I did something wrong let me know. No flames, no pairings, and leave reviews on your way out._

* * *

Conrad Ecklie did not agree with Gil Grissom most of the time.

Even at the beginning of his career Ecklie had shared a rivalry with his more quiet and withdrawn rival; the entomologist seemed to make it his personal business to contradict anything Ecklie did or comb over crime scenes that the balding man had overseen. He had heard a rumor somewhere that Grissom believed Ecklie was far too hasty and went for the immediate results instead of investing in the time to thoroughly investigate the matter.

However, as Ecklie liked to point out (multiple times, in fact), the jury and the higher-ups rarely cared about the intricate details behind a case that Grissom seemed to delight in. It because of his straight-to-the-point manner that he had been promoted to assistant director—had Grissom actually played the political game, he himself might have been promoted and he would hold the power that Ecklie now held.

But that was not the man's style.

In comparison to Ecklie (who made it a point to establish connections), Grissom was a silent and introverted individual, very rarely exerting his authority and not seeming to care at all about personal advancement. The people who immediately worked around him seemed to treat him with a great deal of respect, though Ecklie was certain that it resulted from favoritism to his team.

He had heard from a great number of fellow CSI and officers that Grissom rarely dealt in politics, and indeed was not interested in them. But he had seemed to care quite a good deal when Ecklie had split his team up; some could say that it was to help Grissom's team expand more and to promote the more experienced CSI's to their well-deserved ranks, but Ecklie would not deny that there had been a little bit of vengeance behind that call.

After all, they were rivals. And Ecklie had been _dying_ to put Grissom in his place for ages.

Still, the quiet man had grudgingly accepted the decision, making very little effort to take his team back and continuing on as he always had, much to Ecklie's annoyance—it wouldn't kill him to show a little bit of discomfort at this latest development, especially since he had been left with hot-headed Sara and the newly instated Greg. For a while, it seemed as if Grissom's placidity would last.

It did, too. All the way until Nick was taken.

In the aftermath of that night, after spending a couple of days frantically searching for their comrade, after the long and terrifying hours had passed and they had finally found the CSI inside his would-be coffin and had pulled off an explosive rescue, Ecklie and Grissom stood together silently and watched the ambulance that held Nick, Catherine, and Warrick drive off into the night.

Greg and Sara had wanted to go too. The expressions on their faces spoke louder than words; Nick had been one of their own, and he had been there for them on more than one occasion. To watch the ambulance leave with him inside it had been very hard on them, to say nothing of Grissom's own silent discomfort. But since they were the graveyard shift and their companions worked the dayshift, they could not follow after them until the scene was processed.

Grissom was still watching the ambulance when he next spoke, not even turning his head to face Ecklie: "I want my guys back."

It was at that moment when Ecklie finally understood why everyone seemed to respect the introverted entomologist.

To most people it sounded like it was a wistfully spoken thought, like a child asking for a new toy. Most might have ignored it altogether, passing it off for just another one of Grissom's random quirks or as a casual comment.

But Ecklie had been around long enough to recognize the steel in Grissom's voice, that subtle tone of authority that the older man seemed to keep hidden until he really and truly needed it; it was a tone that really left no room for argument.

Conrad Ecklie did not agree with Gil Grissom most of the time.

But for once he found there would be no way he could deny the unspoken order.


End file.
